In this issue you will be able to view more than an embarrassment of riches in rare and unusual coins.

This can best be described as a humiliation of riches. Yes, you will feel just like Scrooge McDuck when you dive into this listing.

In addition to the somewhat interesting article below, you will see a selection of coins that are simply not available anywhere else. A few of these coins you probably didn’t know existed. But once you see them, you can’t un-see them. And you just might wish to add one or two to your holdings.

The 100 Point Grading System: That Frog Has Been Boiled

Two or three times per week I get a variation of the same question from collectors. That question is: “When are the grading services going to 'force' us into using a 100 point grading system?”

The vast majority of collectors I talk to are against the 100 point grading system. They don’t care for it for one very good reason. They feel they will be at a disadvantage when they sell their coins if they don't convert their slab coins from the old grading system into the new 100 point grading system, and they are annoyed at the expense of regrading all of their slabbed coins that would involve.

To all those folks concerned about this: I have some good news and some not so good news. First the good news. It is my strong belief that the 100 point grading system will never be implemented. I do not have any inside information on this; I just feel it would be very bad business for these companies to institute it, and would alienate their end user customers.

Now for the bad news. The 100 point grading system has already been implemented. In fact, you have been living with it for a few years now.

This can be analogized to placing a frog in a pot of water. Most of you have heard this old saw. But for those of you who haven't and for those who may be disturbed by the harming of a theoretical amphibian – please turn down your Internet.

Anyway, (from what I am told) if you put a frog in a pot of room temperature water and slowly raise the temperature of that water on a stove, by the time the frog realizes he is in big trouble, he will be unable to jump out of the pot. That is what has happened to all of us collectors, dear reader.

The 100 point grading system has been implemented ever since they went to “Plus” grading. In other words: AU53+, MS62+, MS66+, and so on. When you add up all those new little pluses from nearly every grade from XF 45 through MS 68, it totals up to the equivalent of a 100 point grading system.

It was pure genius. In fact, the new system had been in place for about 10 months before someone pointed out to me that this was the 100 point grading system we had all dreaded. I didn't even notice it had happened either.

And upon further analysis this really isn't such a bad thing. After all, you don't need to get all of your coins regraded. If you happen to have a few Super-Dee-Duper coins in your collection, you might find it financially advisable to get those re-graded to see if they will earn a plus right before you sell them. But that's not much different than it was before the pluses were added to numerical grades.

So relax folks. The big, bad 100 point grading system isn't likely to come to your town anytime soon. It already has been living among us, just like the aliens in nearly every Twilight Zone episode ever made.

Now On to the NewP's

As in my previous newsletters, these coins are the items I have gathered over the last few weeks. The plan is to upload all these coins to my website. In the meantime, readers of this newsletter will be the very first to lay eyes on these offerings. By popular demand, I've included photos of the coins where I have them.

The “Making the Grade” Featured Coin

1891 Morgan Dollar. PCGS graded Proof-66+. CAC.A gorgeous proof of the pristine kind that is rarely seen in today's “squeeze-the-last-bit-of-grade-increase-out-of-a-coin-by-dipping-it” coin market. A superb gem proof dollar of the type that was routinely seen a few decades ago but not so much now. $7975.----------------------------

New Listings1785 Connecticut Copper. Bust Right. PCGS graded AU50. Ex. Hessberg Collection.Miller 6.3-g.1 die variety, considered to be rarity-3. A perfect milk chocolate brown specimen that sports the famous Hessberg pedigree. Mr. Hessberg’s collection was known for exceptional quality early copper coins and this piece is no exception. This coin comes with PCGS TrueView images. $6250.

1787 Connecticut Copper. Draped Bust Left, AUCTOBI Variety. PCGS graded AU55.AUCTOBI Redbook variety. Miller 39.1-h.1 die variety, considered to be rarity-5. Very desirable in this high grade; the single highest graded of the AUCTOBI type that PCGS has graded, and easily in the condition census. Hard chocolate brown surfaces. $6950.

1787 Connecticut Copper. PCGS graded AU58+. Ex. John Ford Collection.Draped Bust Left. Miller-25-b die variety, considered to be rarity 5. This coin was last sold in Stack’s auction of the John Ford collection in May of 2005, where as lot #320 it was called Uncirculated and the finest seen. It sold for $10,350 at that auction. A phenomenal opportunity for the colonial coin specialist. It is pedigreed to the S.H.&H. Chapman auction of the John Mills collection, 4/27/1904 where it was lot #291. This coin comes with PCGS TrueView images. $7750.

1802/0 Half Cent. Reverse of 1802. PCGS graded Fine-12.A key date in this eminently completable series. Far superior in color and surface vs. pretty much any specimen I have seen in this grade range. $4450.

1811 Half Cent. PCGS graded Very Fine-35. CAC.Another key date half cent, this one emanating from the same Connecticut collection as the previous coin. Hard surfaces; choice and unbrushed. $4450.

1814 Bust Half Dollar. Single Leaf. PCGS graded XF40.Overton-105a die variety, considered to be rarity-4. Under intense collector pressure, as the Single Leaf is listed as a separate Redbook variety. This coin is an even light gray with the barest hints of mint luster clinging to the protected areas. $1200.

1836 Gobrecht Dollar. PCGS graded PR-53. OGH. CAC.Original Striking. One of the most desirable issues in US coinage. Is it a pattern? Is it a regular issue? Scholars continue to debate, but the consensus is leaning towards these were meant to circulate. A lovely, choice, unmolested example. $22,750.

1921 Morgan Dollar. PCGS graded MS65.1921 Morgans are not known for attractive toning, for some reason. This specimen is a happy exception. $160.

1921-D $1 NGC graded MS64.A lightly toned, pleasing example. $75.

1900 Lesher Dollar. A.B. Bumstead. PCGS graded AU58. CAC.Type 1, Z-2, HK-788, considered to be rarity-5. A.B. Bumstead #538. Approximately 210 of these medals were originally struck.Joseph Lesher of Victor, Colorado, inspired by William Jennings Bryan's free silver platform, created them. Grocer A.B. Bumstead was an early and leading participant in Lesher's "referendum souvenir" program. He was stopped from issuing any more by the Secret Service in 1901.This coin comes with PCGS TrueView images. $3895.

(1430-1431) England, Twopence of Henry VI. NGC graded VF25.Spink-1862. King Henry VI’s reign began at the ripe old age of 9 months, and was marked by several wars. He is perhaps best known as the subject of three of William Shakespeare’s plays. He had cool coin designs though; his coinage makes him look like a member of the Rolling Stones circa 1968. Nice coin too, with blue, gold and green coloration. $295.

(1431-1432) England. Fourpence of Henry VI. PCGS graded XF40.Spink-1875 This fourpence, or groat, is gorgeously toned in green, gold and gray. Well centered, round and with all of the detail showing, it is the perfect specimen for someone who only wants one example. There are PCGS TrueView images of this coin. $495.

(1660-1662) England. Twopence of Charles II. PCGS graded VF30.Beautifully detailed example of the coinage of the English king that earned the moniker, “The Merry Monarch”. There are PCGS TrueView images of this coin. $375.

1793 Contemporary Counterfeit 2 Reales. The “Liberace Head”. Very Fine [uncertified].Kleeberg 93A-L6. Copper. Lima mintmark. Hard surfaces and nice medium brown color, with some weakness on Mr. Liberace’s head. [In case you were wondering, this variety was given this name by John Kleeberg, who wrote the treatise on this series. Though I wouldn’t blame you if you assumed I made it up. It sounds like something I would dream up]. $495.

1800 Mexico One Real. PCGS graded MS63.A gorgeous example of this issue, also known as a 12 ½ cent piece here in the good ol' USA. These coins were heavily used both here and abroad, and finding uncirculated examples that haven't been scrubbed to death is a real chore. A PCGS TrueView image accompanies this coin. $895.

1804 Contemporary Counterfeit 2 Reales. Copper-Nickel. Extremely Fine [uncertified].Kleeberg 04A-L12. Lima, Peru mintmark. Very little actual wear on this piece, as this coin was designed to look worn when new to pass easier. Photo #6939 $295.

1834 Classic Head Half Eagle Counterfeit. Extremely Fine [uncertified].This appears to be a base metal with a heavy plating of gold on top. I am not convinced this is a contemporary counterfeit, so I am not claiming it is. Still, a neat coin and the first I have seen of this. $225

1851 Liberty Quarter Eagle Contemporary Counterfeit. Very Fine [uncertified].Another crude counterfeit of the period, from the same collection as some of the other unusual counterfeits I’ve offered recently. $195.

1855 Wiener Medal. Notre Dame in Paris. Uncirculated [uncertified].59 mm bronze, Van Hoydonck 122. The spectacular rendering of perhaps the most famous cathedral in the world – Notre Dame in Paris. A superlative example. $395.

1863 Wiener Medal. Cathedral At Speyer. Uncirculated [uncertified].59 mm, Bronze. Van Hoydonck 199. Originally built in 1030, this Bavarian cathedral was destroyed and rebuilt several times over the hundreds of years before Jacques Wiener engraved this medal. A choice example. $395.

1890-O Morgan Dollar Contemporary Counterfeit. Extremely Fine [uncertified].Crudely made, and fun to look at as such. I know this is a contemporary counterfeit, as it resided in an old time counterfeit collection. However, I cannot prove it scientifically. Thus it is only $95.

1914-S Barber Quarter Contemporary Counterfeit. Very Fine [uncertified].An absolutely ludicrous looking, crude counterfeit. I collected contemporary counterfeit Barber coinage for over 20 years and have never seen one of these before. It is struck in brass, with a silver wash that has mostly worn away. As we say in New England – “It's friggin' bizzah.” $250.

1924-S/S/S Standing Liberty Quarter Contemporary Counterfeit. Very Fine [uncertified].This was actually described as a genuine variety in the first edition of J.H. Cline’s book on Standing Liberty Quarters, though it was removed without explanation from later editions. It is a well made coin for the period, though with crude details under close examination. I am told that Dr. Michael Fey wrote an article on this counterfeit in 2008, but I was unable to locate it. I handled another specimen, the only other one I have seen, several months ago. As a result I was offered this one. $295.

Coming Soon...

1933 Huey Long "toilet medal"More contemporary CounterfeitsOther goodies to delight and amaze you